Social Media

In which circumstances should a democratic nation ban access to social networks?

During the UK riots in 2011, the UK Prime Minister suggested shutting down social networks in future riots to prevent information sharing amongst rioters. Now Turkey has blocked access to Twitter, stating the service was ‘biased’ and did nothing to stop the ‘character assassination’ of politicians in the current ruling party accused of bribery. LikeRead… Read more »

Making Twitter useful again…

I popped open my twitter account (@jmillsapps) this morning and realized that for the last few weeks I hadn’t really been on much. I remember back when I first got on Twitter I loved it because so much of what I was interested in came to me without my spending time combing the web. IRead… Read more »

Sharing Makes Everything Better: Everyone Benefits When Small Data Goes Big

For decades, urbanites have been tuning in to local radio stations before their morning commute to hear the traffic report. Based on static cameras at strategic locations, as well as helicopters and tips from motorists or passengers, traffic reports are perfect examples of data that give rise to decisions. Holland Tunnel is blocked? Route aroundRead… Read more »

New Pew Study Maps Twitter Conversations

We saw an intriguing article last month over at the PewResearch Internet Project that we thought might interest some of our social media- and tech-oriented members. Pew has compiled some very impressive amounts of data on the patterns that we can find in political conversation on Twitter that may hold insights for us as practitioners.Read… Read more »

3 Digital Comm Trends In State And Local Gov

In the past few years the scope of digital communications in government has gone through a tremendous change. Gone are the days when a simple press release would suffice. Now governments at all levels are responsible for communications outreach through many different channels; emails, social media, text messaging etc. For a local Parks and Recreation’sRead… Read more »

5 Lessons for Government from SxSW

The argument has been made (and made and made) that SxSW is So Over ™. Respectfully, I disagree. It is certainly a corporate event—witness Samsung offering to bring a free, charged battery to anyone whose Samsung device is running low—but that doesn’t mean that governments agencies, whether local, state, or federal, should skip out. Indeed,Read… Read more »

Great Content + Easy Access + Cross Promotion = Good Gov Communication

The government is home to troves of data – data that is timely, relevant and critical to you. However, getting you the information in a prompt, clear and concise fashion is a HUGE challenge for agencies. GovDelivery is trying to alleviate some of the challenges by sharing their digital communications best practices during the PowerRead… Read more »

Gov20 at SxSW

I’ll be leaving today for Austin, TX, and this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival. As with most years, I’ve completely overbooked myself, but this is the double-edge sword of interesting conferences: there is more to do and see and hear than two eyes, two ears, and one brain can take in. I do planRead… Read more »

The Power of Reach Tour – How To Get Your Message Out Effectively

It was the the tweet heard around the country: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody” The first official announcement that law enforcement agencies had concluded their manhunt for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev didn’t come at a press conference. ItRead… Read more »